Traffic on the roads is up by 84pc since 1980

Gridlocked Britain has experienced a near doubling in road travel in the past three decades, Government figures reveal.

Road traffic in Britain grew by 84 per cent between 1980 and 2006, statistics from the Department for Transport showed.

The report also highlighted a sharp rise in delays on the slowest routes over the past two years.

Between July 2005 and August 2007, delays on the worst 10 per cent of journeys increased still further from 3.78 minutes for every ten miles travelled to 4.16 minutes. That is an increase of 10.2 per cent.

Average journey times over the same 25-month period have increased 2.9 per cent - from 13.4 minutes per ten miles to 13.8 minutes - an increase of 2.9 per cent.

Despite a decrease between 2004-5, car traffic has since begun to rise again.

The findings are a blow for the Government, which has spent ten years in power pledging to reduce traffic and congestion.

The statistics - in the latest edition of the Government's transport trends survey - was also bad news for the environment.

It revealed a 52 per cent increase in emissions of carbon dioxide from domestic transport sources since 1980. The sector now accounts for 23 per cent of CO2 emissions in the UK.

Average peak time traffic speeds in English urban areas was just 20.9mph. Off-peak travel speeds have fallen by 8 per cent over the seven years to 2006 - to 24.1mph.

Figures for other modes of transport showed that rail travel has increased by more than 50 per cent since 1980, with investment increasing significantly since privatisation in the 1990s.

Despite a general decline elsewhere in the country, a large growth in bus usage in London has led to an overall increase in bus journeys over the past seven years.

As expected, air travel has shown the biggest increase.

UK residents also made 70million visits overseas in 2006, the majority by air, compared with just 18million visits in 1980.

But the report also showed walking and cycling for travel purposes have both declined significantly over the past ten years.